NBA player Kyrie Irving will sit courtside without a mask to watch the Nets play Sunday, but due to his vaccine status won’t be allowed to play.
QUICK FACTS:
- Although Irving can attend the game and sit in the building, he will not be given permission to play alongside his Brooklyn Nets’ teammates on Sunday afternoon.
- While New York Mayor Eric Adams has lifted part of the vaccine mandate, private sectors are still requiring employees to be jabbed to work inside.
- “Whatever you think of Irving’s decision not to get a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine that has saved lives, there is a serious flaw in the way a mandate works if Irving can sit in a building and watch a game he can’t play in,” NBC Sports said.
NBA CORRESPONDENT MARC STEIN ON THE MANDATE:
“Is there a reasonable/sane/choose your adjective explanation to account for the Nets’ Kyrie Irving being allowed to attend games Saturday and Sunday at Barclays Center as an unmasked courtside spectator but not be allowed to play at Barclays Center?”
BACKGROUND:
- Irving has not given a direct reason for his decision to not be vaccinated, but announced in October that it “is not about being anti-vax or about being on one side or the other. It is just really about being true to what feels good for me.”
- Over the past few months, he has been on the receiving end of heavy criticism from those who believe he should simply take the vaccine and get back to playing home games.
- Last month, Irving said he does not feel guilty about standing his ground over the situation, and said it was his decision and he would be standing on it.
- Irving’s teammate Kevin Durant also spoke out about the ordeal, saying “It’s ridiculous, I don’t understand it at all. I don’t get it. It just feels like, at this point now, somebody’s trying to make a statement or point to flex their authority. Everybody out here is looking for attention.”
